Soldering

Soldering Safety 101

There’s an old saying in amateur radio: You’re not really a ham until you’ve used up

your first spool of solder. You see, soldering is a skill, and like all skills, it requires

practice.

If you’ve never soldered before or have very little experience, a great option is to

purchase the Plusivo Soldering Iron Kit from Amazon. It sells for $17.99 and, in addition

to a soldering iron and rosin core solder, it contains virtually all the ancillary items you’re

likely to need. According to the Amazon product description, the kit also includes items

“such as a desoldering pump/solder sucker, tin wire solder tube, tweezers, mini wire

stripper, mini screwdrivers, mini PCB, heat shrink tubes, and more, plus a downloadable

ebook.” The best part? It all fits in a neat little case, which is a plus for keeping your

soldering supplies organized. With this kit, you’ll be all set—unless you misplace the

case.

Rule number one in soldering safely is: USE YOUR HEAD! It’s NEVER a good idea to

solder around flammable materials, but it’s always wise to protect your eyes by wearing

safety glasses. It’s NEVER a good idea to let your cat “assist” you while soldering, but

it’s always best to work in a well-ventilated area. Unless you want a quick trip to the ER,

you really shouldn’t solder on a live circuit. One last thing: it’s definitely NOT a smart

move to grasp the soldering iron by its business end—as the young lady is doing in the

photo. (At least she’s wearing eye protection…)

Once you get your soldering equipment, spend some time on YouTube learning

soldering techniques. Practice with some scrap printed circuit boards and components,

and soon you’ll be ready to get a kit or two and build your first project. You’ll be a pro

just in time to enter the HDARC Homebrew Contest in September. You might just

discover how much fun building your own equipment can be. Besides, it’ll give you

something to do when the bands are dead.